School Counseling or Guidance Counseling are where aspirants looking for better career opportunities, vocational and academic advancement are guided by school counseling experts to follow up or pursue career of their choice and opportunity. They help students at every level from elementary school to college to choose upon the area where they wish to carve out career and opportunities for them. They advocate on career related issues not only students but also individuals and organizations as well like state unemployment office or placement services as to promote academic, career and social development.
- Nature of the Job: School counselors evaluate students’ abilities, interests and personalities to carve out realistic and practical career goals. They use interviews, counseling sessions and aptitude assessment tests to evaluate and advise students. They also run career information centers, career day events and career education programs. They provide counseling generally outside the traditional school setting. They evaluate the client’s education, work history, interests, skills and personality traits.
- Qualification: In order to become a school guidance counselor one is expected to be a 4-year undergraduate degree holder. A Bachelor’s Degree in Education or Sociology is best suited to prepare one for 2 to 3-year master’s degree, most prominently having the Master of Education in Counseling, which most of the states and employers need. Master’s programs provide students with a capacity of learning and fieldwork in local schools. All states requires school counselors to have their state school counseling certification, while some other expects from them as counseling as well teaching certificate. It is the counselor’s duty to become conscious of the education, certification and training requirements within the state they have planned to work.
- School Counseling Certification and Licensure: In United States, all states need certification for school counselors, and some other states held a counseling test for licensure as well. A master’s degree followed by two years of practical experience is imperative for state licensure. By other states teaching certificate is also needed for practicing school counseling. Career counselors generally require a master’s degree, and licensure is normally accredited after the master’s degree level. State’s licensure requirement is very necessary incase someone wishes to practice school counseling as a private practice. Apart from that school counselors like other counseling option if situated out of school must accomplish there annual education requirements.
- Salary: The average salary for school counselor working within school districts occurs to be around nearly $44,894, while counselors employed at the college or university makes an average salary of around $37,587 annually, as informed according to the statistics of PayScale.com.
